Three female suicide bombers blew themselves up at the entrance to a camp for displaced people in north-east Nigeria, killing 28 people and wounding 82, and prompting a global humanitarian agency on Wednesday to call for better security to protect those displaced by Boko Haram violence.
The attack on Tuesday took place in the town of Mandarari, 25 kilometres from Maiduguri, the capital of Borno state, said Baba Kura, a member of a vigilante force set up to fight extremists.
"Three female bombers triggered their explosive outside of the IDP [internally displaced persons] camp ... killing 28 people and wounding 82 others," Mr Kura said.
The head of the Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC) in Nigeria, Ernest Mutanga said: "Camps sheltering innocent families fleeing war should be places of refuge. But instead they are turning into death traps."
"We need to see the Nigerian government stepping up to protect civilians in displacement camps. It's their primary responsibility."
The first assailant triggered panic when she blew herself up, Mr Kura said.
"People were trying to close their shops when two other female bombers triggered their explosives, causing most of the casualties," he said.
Ibrahim Liman, the head of a local anti-extremist militia force, confirmed the details of the attack, and said that more than 80 injured had been taken to Maiduguri hospital.
A source at the hospital said a "huge number" of patients had arrived.
North-east Nigeria is a hotbed of activity by the Boko Haram militant group, involving shootings, bombings and kidnappings.
The insurgents have stepped up their attacks on "soft" targets, Mr Mutanga said, indicating there had been 190 security incidents involving civilians in the region last month - more than the total combined for May and June.
There was also "an increase in the number of attacks on sites sheltering displaced civilians", he said.
The group launched an insurgency in 2009 that has killed about 20,000 people and displaced around 2.6 million others, creating one of the world's biggest humanitarian crises.
Nearly two million are suffering from acute malnutrition, according to UN figures.
After being elected to power in 2015, Nigerian president Muhammadu Buhari made tackling the insurgency a priority, winning back swathes of territory and declaring that Boko Haram is "technically defeated".
But there has been a surge in attacks this year, including an audacious assault on an oil exploration team that killed 69 people in Borno in July, raising fears that Boko Haram is regaining strength.
That attack prompted vice president Yemi Osinbajo - standing in for the president who is on indefinite sick leave - to tell the millitary to step up its response.
Mr Osinbajo issued "fresh directives … to immediately scale-up their efforts and activities in Borno state … to maintain a strong, effective control of the situation", his spokesman Laolu Akandehe said.
In August, 72 people were killed in north-eastern Nigeria, including 31 fishermen on islands in Lake Chad, according to an unofficial toll compiled from news reports.
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Spending an excessive amount of time on the phone.
Neglecting personal, social, or academic responsibilities.
Losing interest in other activities or hobbies that were once enjoyed.
Having withdrawal symptoms like feeling anxious, restless, or upset when the technology is not available.
Experiencing sleep disturbances or changes in sleep patterns.
What are the guidelines?
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It's up to you to go green
Nils El Accad, chief executive and owner of Organic Foods and Café, says going green is about “lifestyle and attitude” rather than a “money change”; people need to plan ahead to fill water bottles in advance and take their own bags to the supermarket, he says.
“People always want someone else to do the work; it doesn’t work like that,” he adds. “The first step: you have to consciously make that decision and change.”
When he gets a takeaway, says Mr El Accad, he takes his own glass jars instead of accepting disposable aluminium containers, paper napkins and plastic tubs, cutlery and bags from restaurants.
He also plants his own crops and herbs at home and at the Sheikh Zayed store, from basil and rosemary to beans, squashes and papayas. “If you’re going to water anything, better it be tomatoes and cucumbers, something edible, than grass,” he says.
“All this throwaway plastic - cups, bottles, forks - has to go first,” says Mr El Accad, who has banned all disposable straws, whether plastic or even paper, from the café chain.
One of the latest changes he has implemented at his stores is to offer refills of liquid laundry detergent, to save plastic. The two brands Organic Foods stocks, Organic Larder and Sonnett, are both “triple-certified - you could eat the product”.
The Organic Larder detergent will soon be delivered in 200-litre metal oil drums before being decanted into 20-litre containers in-store.
Customers can refill their bottles at least 30 times before they start to degrade, he says. Organic Larder costs Dh35.75 for one litre and Dh62 for 2.75 litres and refills will cost 15 to 20 per cent less, Mr El Accad says.
But while there are savings to be had, going green tends to come with upfront costs and extra work and planning. Are we ready to refill bottles rather than throw them away? “You have to change,” says Mr El Accad. “I can only make it available.”
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